Please join us for our next virtual Brown Bag seminar with Heather E. Whitson, MD, MHS, Professor of Medicine, Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Head & Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences, Duke University; Director, Duke Center for the Study of Aging & Human Development; Co-Director, Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Dr. Whitson will discuss “Resilience in Aging Research: Taking An Old Concept in New Directions.”

Dr. Heather Whitson is an internist, geriatrician and clinical investigator.  She is a Professor of Medicine, Ophthalmology, Neurology, & Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences at Duke University; Director of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development (aka “the Duke Aging Center”); and co-Director of the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Her overall goal is to optimize independence and resilience in people with multiple chronic conditions. She has particular expertise related to how the aging process and comorbidities affect the brain. Working with transdisciplinary teams, her work has improved outcomes for people with or at risk of vision impairment and cognitive impairment. Dr. Whitson has been an active contributor and thought leader in the emerging field of physical resilience.  She is a Core Leader in Duke’s Pepper and Roybal Centers and co-leads the PRIME Collaborative, a multi-institutional research initiative to identify mechanisms and predictors of recovery after common health stressors (e.g., surgery, hip fracture).  Through several institutional and national leadership roles, Dr. Whitson coordinates and facilitates efforts to broaden the evidence base and research workforce to improve knowledge and care decisions for medically complex older patients. Dr. Whitson’s contributions to the field of aging were acknowledged by the 2018 American Geriatrics Society Thomas and Yoshikawa Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Clinical Investigation.